Pneumatic track-sander.



No. 798,060. PATENTBD AUG. 22, 1905. H. RAU, J3. PNEUMATIC TRACK SNDER.

APPLICATION TILED D3022, 1904.

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PNEUMATIC TRACK-SANDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed December 22, 1904. Serial No. 237,881.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY RAU, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Track-Sanders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in pneumatic track-sanders.

The invention is especially designed for use in a form of sander in which the communication with forward sand-discharge tubes in front of the drivers and the communication with the rear discharge-tubes behind the drivers of a locomotive or motor are controlled by a single valve in a sand-distributing chamber, so that when sand is being forced throughv one of said sand-tubes the communication with the other tube will be cut off.

The present invention therefore has among its objects to improve the construction of the cut-off valve, whereby the valve will have a shearing action across the sand-outlets when moved so as to close said outlets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction of valve whose every operation will cut through and loosen the sand and prevent it from packing and getting hard within the valve-chamber.

The present invention is particularly related to the form of sander shown and described in United States Patent No. 747,308, granted December 15, 1903.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 illustrates a central vertical section of the sander and shows the air-inlets and sand-outlets and the valve controlling the same. Fig. 2 illustrates a side elevation of the detached valve. Fig. 3 illustrates a horizontal section through the valve-base on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 illustrates a horizontal sectional view through the sander on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, but showing the parts inverted and showing bellcranlt. Fig. 6 illustrates an inverted or bot tom plan view of the sanders at opposite sides of the locomotive or motor and the lever and rod connections for operating the same simultaneously.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 designates the sandercasing, whose upper end is provided with a threaded opening into which one end of a sand-supply pipe 2 enters. This pipe is in communication with any suitable sand-receptacle, such as the usual sandbox on the locomotive-boiler.

The sander-casing is provided with two airsupply nozzles 3 and 4. One of these nozzles'3 has position in the side of the casing near the upper end thereof, while the other nozzle 4 has position near the lower end of they casing and at the diametrically opposite side from the nozzle 3. In practice the outer threaded ends of these nozzles are connected to separate air-supply pipes which extend to a point in: the cab or within reach of the en-gi neer or motorman, who by means of suitable valves.such, for example, as are disclosed in the said Thomas patent above referred to-' may permit com-pressed air from a reservoir to pass to either of said nozzles, as desired. Diametrically opposite the nozzle 3 the casing is provided with a sand-outlet 5, in which one end of a sand-distributing tube or pipe .6 enters. This pipe 6, it will; be understood,

leads from the casing to a point front of the drivers and terminates near the rail. A sand-discharge pipe 7 also enters the casing at a point diametrically oppositethe lower nozzle 4, and this latter pipe extends from said casing tothe rear of the drivers and also terminates at a point adjacent the rail. On the interior the casing. isprovided with a chamber 8,. whichextends from the sand-supply pipe 2 to a point below the sand-discharge pipe 7, and the air-supply nozzles 3 and 4 are in communioatien with said chamber. A valve 9 has position within said chamber 8, and said valve has an exterior shape to conform to the shape of the chamber. In the" present instance the chamber is circular and the valve is. alsocircu-lar on its'e-xterion. The valve is provided with a circular base L0, which in the present instance is provided with a down-wardly-proj ecting central stem 11,- havinga central passage 12 and a screw-plug 13 at the lower end of: said passage having a square or angular'head 1' 4 for a purpose to be presently described. The screW-plu g and central passage are provided for the sake of con venience in; emptying the chamber 8 prior to the: removal of the valve foran-y purpose. A circumferential groove 15 is provided in the side Wali of the circular base 10, and a retaining-screw 16 passes through a threaded hole in the casing and projects into said groove and holds the valve in the casing-chamber,

but permits said valve to have a partial rotary movement in said chamber.

An arm 17 projects upwardly from the rim edge of the circular valve-base 10 and at one side of the latter, and the outer surface of this arm is circular or convex to conform to the concave shape of the chamber 8, and said arm is provided with a head 18, Whose exterior surface is also convex to fit the curvature of the wall of the casing-chamber. The position of this head when the valve is within the casing-chamber is such as to be in'the same horizontal plane with the opening to the rear sand-discharge pipe 7, so that when the valve is moved within the chamber'this head may pass over or cover the said lower dischargeopening. Above the convex head the arm 17 curves upwardly and forms a part spiral, and the upper end of said arm terminates as it joins the circular ring or shell 19 at the upper end of the valve. The side edges of this arm 17 are beveled, so as to form a sharp shear edge 20 adjacent the chamber-wall, and serves to cut through the sand in the chamber when the valve is moved therein. This shear or cutting edge can be plainly seen by reference to Fig. 4. Another arm 21 extends upwardly from the circular base 10 at a point substantially opposite the arm 17, and this arm 21 also has a part-spiral formation, and

its upper end is provided with a convex head 22, which has position in a horizontal plane even with the sand-discharge outlet 5, and this head 22 is diametrically opposite the up-' per end of the arm 17 Like the arm 17 this arm 21 is also provided with bevelededges 20.

When the valve-frame is placed Within the casing-chamber 8, the upper edge of the ring 19 has position below or adjacent the end of the sand-supply pipe 2, and one of the spiral tically the same as those shown in the said Thomas patent heretofore referred to. 'It will be understood that in practice two sanders such as herein described will be provided for each locomotive or motor, one sander being placed'on each side of the locomotive at a convenient point with respect to the drivers and the two sanders directly connected by a rod. It is also to be understood that it is preferred to operate both of said sanders simultaneously. A bell-crank lever 26 is fitted on the end of the valve-stem 11, and one arm of said lever is connected to a rod 27, which extends to a point within reach of the operator. The other arm of said bell-crank lever is connected by a rod 29 to a valve-lever 30 of a sander on the opposite side of the locomotive, so as to operate both valvessimultaneously.

When the rod 27 is reciprocated, the bellcrank 26 will be operated and the valves 9 in the casing-chamber 8 will be given a partial rotary motion. The position of the valves in the chamber with respect to the sand-discharge outlets is such that the rotation of the valve to uncover one sand-outlet will cause the other outlet to be covered or cut off. This partial rotary movement of the valves in the chamber causes the shear edges 20 of the spiral arms 17 and 21 to cut spirally through the sand and clear the latter from adhering to the sides of the chamber-wall, and in making these repeated forward and backward shearing movements the sand in the chamber will be displaced-vertically as well as laterally, thus rendering it impossible for the sand in the chamber to become packed or caked. other advantage is gained in this form of valve by the formation of the spiral openings between the two valvearmsto wit, upon each 1 movement of the valve all the sand in said spaces and between said arms must be dis- .supply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings, and one ormore air-inlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of arms and each arm carrying a head to cover one of said sand-discharge openings,said heads and arms extending in a direction crosswise of the said openings, and means. for moving said valve-arms and heads whereby to uncover but one discharge-opening at a time.

2. A pneumatic track-sander comprising a casing having a chamber provided with a sandsupply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings and one or more air-inlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of spirally-curved arms extending through said chamber and each arm carrying a head which is located in a plane to register with one of said sand-discharge openings, said arms being spaced from each other to form sand-spaces, and means for moving the valve and arms in said chamber to uncover one discharge-opening at a time and to simultaneously displace the sand in the spaces between said arms.

3. A pneumatic track-sander comprising a casing having a chamber provided with a sandsupply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings, and one or more air-inlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of heads each of which is arranged in a plane to register with one of the sand-discharge openings and said valve having a plurality of sandspaces between said heads, and means for moving the valve in said chamber to uncover one sand-discharge opening at a time and to displace the sand in said spaces when the valve moves.

JAH-

4. A pneumatic track-sander comprising a casing having a chamber provided with a sandsupply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings and one or more airinlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of heads, one for each sand-discharge opening, and means for moving said valve and heads simultaneously whereby but one dischargeopening may be uncovered at a time.

5. A pneumatic track-sander comprising a casing having a chamber provided with a sandsupply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings and one or more air-inlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of spirally-curved arms which extend through said chamber and in contact with the walls of the latter, said arms each having a position in the chamber to pass and fit over one of the sanddischarge openings when the valve is moved, and means for moving the valve and arms in said chamber to uncover sand-discharge openings and to contact with the wall of said chamber to displace the sand.

6. A pneumatic track-sander comprising a casing havinga chamber provided with a sandsupply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings and one or more air-inlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of arms, one for each sand-discharge opening and each arm having beveled side edges to contact with the wall of said-chamber and form a shear to displace the sand, and means for moving said valve and arms in the chamber whereby to uncover one of said dischargeopenings at a time and to cut the sand away from the chamber-walls.

7 A pneumatic track-sander comprising a casing having a circular chamber provided with a sand-supply opening, a plurality of sand-discharge openings and one or more airinlets; a valve in said chamber and having a plurality of spirally-curved arms which are convex on their exterior and which contact with the circular wall of said chamber and serve to close the sand-discharge openings, said arms being spaced from each other and forming spiral sand-spaces, and means for rotating said valve and arms within the chamber whereby to open one discharge-opening at a time. v

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY RAU, JR.

Witnesses:

CHAS. B. MANN, FELIX R. SULLIVAN. 

